This tahini recipe is simple to make.
You just need sesame seeds and olive oil.

Tahini, like baker’s coconut and dulce de leche, is one of those items that people often buy pre-made without even thinking about the option of making it at home. It turns out that the homemade tahini recipe is really easy to make and tastes just as good as the store-bought kind – if not better. However, as I’ll explain later, the texture of a homemade tahini is not quite the same. This didn’t bother me (as tahini is typically mixed into something), but it may bother you.

Before I get to the tahini recipe, though, let’s start with what tahini is and what it is used for.

What is Tahini?

Tahini is a paste of sesame seeds and olive oil used in all kinds of Mediterranean cooking. It’s often found in the ever-popular hummus and the incredibly fun to say baba ghanoush.

What’s the Difference Between Store-Bought and Homemade Tahini?

My homemade tahini looks like peanut butter.

Store-bought tahini is much smoother.

Faith from The Kitchn describes the difference between homemade tahini and store-bought tahini:

Commercially made tahini separates the bran from the kernel and only grinds the kernel, which is why it is so smooth and thin. At home you’re grinding both the bran and the kernel in a home food processor that isn’t as powerful, so the resulting tahini looks gritty and sticky… It’s more like thick peanut butter with small flecks of the bran.

You can see in the photo above how thick my tahini turned out. Jonathan (who on an unrelated note just bought a new macro lens – I’m lovin’ the closeup sesame seed shot he was able to take) felt that the bran added a complexity of flavor that he hadn’t experienced in store-bought tahini. I honestly couldn’t recall what jarred tahini tasted like and didn’t have a can on hand to compare. You’ll have to do your own side-by-side if you care that much about this issue.

TahiniRecipe

I got the tahini recipe from The Kitchn. It’s so easy! The recipe is below along with my notes.

Tahini Recipe

Yield: about 2 cups tahini

Ingredients

2 C sesame seeds

1/3 C olive oil

Instructions

First, you'll need to toast the sesame seeds.

Heat a heavy, wide-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat.

Add the sesame seeds and toast lightly - about 2 minutes, shaking the pan so they toast evenly. Two tips here: a) I am a messy cook with limited arm strength. I have a great fear that if I toss a pan, food will end up everywhere, therefore, I tend to just vigorously stir rather than toss. b) Keep a careful eye on the sesame seeds as they go from toasted to burnt really quickly. As soon as they start to brown, they are done.

Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.

Next, you'll process the toasted seeds with the olive oil.

Put the toasted sesame seeds in a food processor and drizzle in the olive oil. As you can see, I poured rather than drizzled. It worked just fine!

Hi, Thanks for the recipe. I think I may have solved the lightly grainy texture issue. If you toast your seeds, cool them, grind them smooth in a coffee grinder, and then whisk in the oil. I found this to make the closest equivalent to store bought texture. thank you for the inspiration to do this at home!

Hi, Found this thread after cooking Greek fillet steak gyro which I served with my version of tahini last night. Wanted to see how close I got to the real thing. I was making a much smaller amount so used a pestle & mortar, ground up the seeds really fine with a pinch of coarse salt, then added the olive oil until I got the right consistency. It was smooth as anything I’d ever bought. Added a few more non-authentic ingredients after that but it was really good with the beef.

I’m so glad I found this recipe! I was in the middle of making hummus this afternoon, when I discovered there was no tahini in the house… ~8-/ …an unusual situation for me. So I Googled “tahini recipe”, and found yours. It’s wonderful! I had to use my blender because the half-made hummus was in the food processor, but it worked just fine. I added about a half cup of olive oil before I got the consistency I wanted. I especially like it because it’s not as bitter as the kind I’ve been buying at the store. Thanks! I’ll never do store-bought again!

Thanks Stef! The garbanzo beans are waiting for me to “open sesame” and take them all for a spin in the food processor with a little olive oil and lemon. This gardener will share a bowl of humus with the hubby!

I’d like to update my comment. I’ve quit adding the oil. Takes a little longer, but if you just keep running the sesame seeds through the food processor, stopping periodically to push them down, they will turn into tahini without the additional oil.

I used a coffee bean grinder on the seeds first, made it like a powder, then added the olive oil. very few seed hulls and consistency more like the store bought kind. THank you for this recipe, it’s awesome!!

I am not able to eat seeds at all, so thought I would have to look for store-bought tahini….have never used it before, and am finding it called for in various recipes, including hummus. I will definitely try the coffee grinder route, as suggested by Anonymous – but if bits and pieces remain, I will run it through a fine sieve to get rid of them before adding the oil!

ughh are you kidding me? That simple! I just bought a jar yesterday at $8! well you know from now on I will be making this. Why didn’t I think about making it myself. Thanks for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it!

I can’t wait to try making tahini at home, but I’m having a hard time finding the seeds! I saw someone say that Whole Foods has a bin of sesame seeds…has anyone found other grocery stores (in the mid-atlantic area) that carry large quantities?

I checked Harris Teeter last night & they had 2.4 oz of sesame seeds for $6.35, is this normal pricing?? eek!

Thank you for this! I too “am a messy cook with limited arm strength.” And stirring worked perfectly to roast my sesame seeds. I’m working on a dip with beets, walnuts, and tahini. And this was so much easier than searching the grocery store with two kids in tow.

Thank you so much for this recipe…I wanted to make hummus and did not have tahini..I had sesame seeds and so I searched for tahini recipe and got to this site… Just made tahini(first time making it) and hummus…Thanks again….

For those searching sesame seeds, for your information—you can find sesame seeds at Indian stores…I guess its comparatively very cheap also..

Thanks for sharing your recipe. I buy my sesame seeds in bulk and it’s really inexpensive compared to the store-bought tahini. I like how your recipe involves using the stove-top as most of the other recipes involving the oven make me nervous. I’ve made several batches and it’s so easy!

Thanks for the recipe as I am an old hand at cooking from scratch. It is my preference – I feel more in control of the food I prepare when I do it this way and the taste and quality is better. Plus who of us hasn’t heard what a shoddy job the FDA is doing in what manufacturers can pass off for a proposed “pure” product.

Was preparing hummus for a camping trip and realized I was out of tahini. Yikes!! Found your recipe, took out the skillet and the HS Blender and whipped up a batch and it is better than store bought because both I know my sesame seeds are organic and so was my olive oil and lastly it is made with love and care for those that are to be eating it! Awesome recipe and I am very glad you posted it.

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